A VOICE TO THE WORLD

Many times we tend to shape our lives around what we do. Almost the first question asked when two people interact with one another is, “What is it that you do for a living?” Recently, I accepted a new position working within a nationally know ministry called “YOUNG LIFE”. What I found to be true is people are interested in what you do and how it’s done but rarely get to know why you do what you do. Ministry, for many of us whom are called to inner cities where the demand is high and the funding is low usually have a big why.

Have you ever thought about the reason someone would willingly place themselves in a overlooked, under resourced community with the hope that things can and will change? The answer can be summed up in one word, “WHY”. Everything flows from that place and drives the what and how.

Here’s my why. 25 Million kids wake up every day without a father in their lives, most of them are inner city kids and according to various sources, children from fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides, 71% of pregnant teenagers, 90% of all homeless and runaway children, 70% of juveniles in state operated institutions, 85% of all youth who exhibit behavior disorders, 80% of rapist motivated with displaced anger, 71% of all high school dropouts, 75% of all adolescents in chemical abuse centers, and 85% of all youth sitting in prison. We are called to be proactive rather than reactive. I consider myself to be an urban missionary sent to the very places that most people avoid going.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1Peter 2:9), for the sole purpose of going back into the darkness with the light so those who have nothing but dark roads before them can be led to a bright pathway. Knowing and understanding your WHY will always produce the WHAT and HOW.